Twenty-nine Flights of Five

Twenty-nine flights of five wine blends ... akin to five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes ... so, how do you measure, measure a Chard?

Winemaker Paul Moser and enologist Mauricio Livellara are perfectionists, and we love it.

To arrive at the final blend of our 2008 Cartlidge & Browne Chardonnay -- they tried 29 flights of five different blends -- for an end total of 145 different possible blends. One hundred forty-five is the charm!

We tasted the final blend (just off the bottling line) along with the 2008 Lot 205 Chardonnay.

And then we tasted through 2007 & 2008 Pinot Noirs.

Before the bags came off, Paul noted that they all tasted like Pinot Noir to him. Next time I'll have to throw a few other varietals in there to trip him up.

We liked them all - which was good news. Even before he smelled the wine, Mauricio knew each vintage by the temperature of the wine (some had been lab samples and others pulled from the warehouse) and different specs on the glass.

Paul was pleased with the consistency between vintages and thought the 2008, though just a baby, already aromatically had a lot to say. He talked about the lovely floral notes and cherry cobbler flavor, along with a spicy character and a supple feel.

Sign me up for tastings like this more often!

Spring Release pictures & end-of-vintage sale

Thanks to everyone who came out for Spring Release Day the other weekend! We enjoyed the 2008 C&B Dancing Crow Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, the 2007 Paso Robles Cabernet ... and really everything else under the sun. Good food, good wine, good people - what more can you ask for?


And two views of our sunny & cozy new spot:










Be sure to join us on Saturday, June 13th for a clear-out-the-odds-and-ends, end-of-vintage sale! 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. We'll have more info up on the website soon and in June's email newsletter!

Wine Spies Infiltration!

The Wine Spies have swooped in!

They snagged a very limited amount of our 2005 Moser Scharding Sonoma Valley Pinot Noir and are offering it at a very special price this Friday only! Full details will be available on their site beginning at midnight Pacific on 5-8-09.

Winemakers Paul Moser and Rebecca Scharding Steinschriber produced this wine from fruit grown by Durrell Vineyards in the Sonoma Valley along with Parmalee Hill Vineyards, which adjoins Durrell to the west. Notes of cherry and strawberry, with soft leather and violets underneath. Swoon!

May showers

It's pouring here ... and supposed to rain all weekend. The April showers seem to have brought May showers! It feels like February outside, and instead of springy whites, we're opening up Cabernets. (That said, you never know what people will want to drink! When it was 95 degrees the other week, the tasting room visitors were snapping up the Dessert Syrah. )


The grapevines are soaking up the rain, which is sorely needed. We're still facing a drought, but every single drop of water counts.